Golf was born in Europe and the game has been played there longer than anywhere else. Founder in 1972, the Tour has awarded a Player of the Year Award each season since 1985. These are the male golfers who have won the honor.
1985 – Bernhard Langer
German-born Hall of Fame golfer Bernhard Langer had one of his best years in 1985. He won the German and European Opens along with the Sea Pines Heritage. To top it all off, Langer won the prestigious Masters tournament by four strokes over Chip Beck.
1986 – Seve Ballesteros
The widely adored Spanish star Seve Ballesteros won the European Tour’s Golfer of the Year Award for the first time in 1986 by winning six events on the tour. That included wins at the British Masters, the Irish Open, the Dutch Open and the Open de France.
1987 – Ian Woosnam
Welshman Ian Woosnam won two PGA Tour events, including the 1991 Masters, and had 29 European Tour wins, placing him sixth all-time. In 1987, Woosnam won four times at the Jersey Open, the Madrid Open, the Scottish Open, and the Trophée Lancôme.
1988 – Seve Ballesteros
After another great year in 1988, Seve Ballesteros became the first two-time European Tour Golfer of the Year. He won his third Open Championship at Royal Lytham & St. Annes, and he also captured four additional events on the European Tour.
1989 – Nick Faldo
Nick Faldo is one of the greatest golfers in history, and he was on a heck of a run during this period. The English player won the first of his three Masters in 1989 and the PGA Championship, the British Masters and the Open de France.
1990 – Nick Faldo
Nick Faldo’s remarkable multi-year run continued in 1990 when he repeated as Masters champion and won the Open Championship at St. Andrews. In addition to being named the European Tour’s Golfer of the Year, he was also named the PGA Player of the Year.
1991 – Seve Ballesteros
Seve Ballesteros would again win the European Tour’s Golfer of the Year Award in 1991. The season saw plenty of highs for the Spaniard who won the Volvo PGA Championship and the British Masters and finished in the top 10 at the Open Championship.
1992 – Nick Faldo
After taking a year off in 1991, Nick Faldo won his third European Tour Golfer of the Year Award in 1992. He won the Open Championship at Muirfield, the third time he’d captured the major and also had wins at the Irish Open, Scandanavian Masters and European Open.
1993 – Bernhard Langer
After winning the inaugural European Tour Golfer of the Year Award in 1985, Bernhard Langer won it for a second time in 1993. Just like in 1985, he won the Masters and also had impressive wins at the Volvo PGA Championship and the Volvo German Open.
1994 – Ernie Els
South African Ernie Els would split his time between the European and PGA Tours after he broke out as a star in 1994. That season saw Els win the U.S. Open in a playoff over Colin Montgomerie and Loren Roberts. He’d also win the Dubai Desert Classic.
1995 – Colin Montgomerie
Colin Montgomerie, who would dominate European golf over the next five years. The Scotsman had a second place finish at the PGA Championship and won the Volvo German Open as well as the Trophée Lancôme in Paris.
1996 – Colin Montgomerie
Montgomerie didn’t play great in major tournaments in 1996, being cut from the Open and PGA Championships, but he did have a very nice year on the European Tour, winning the Dubai Desert Classic, the Irish Open and the Canon European Masters.
1997 – Colin Montgomerie
Colin Montgomerie famously never won a major tournament. He finished in solo second place at the U.S. Open, one stroke behind Ernie Els. Monty also won two events, the Compaq European Grand Prix and the Murphy’s Irish Open.
1998 – Lee Westwood
Lee Westwood is eighth all-time in wins on the European Tour, and he showed what a force he would be in 1998, wresting the Golfer of the Year Award away from Colin Montgomerie. He won the PGA’s Freeport-McDermott Classic and four European Tour events, including the National Car Rental English Open.
1999 – Colin Montgomerie
He may not have won the award in 1999, but Colin Montgomerie was again named the European Tour’s Golfer of the Year Award in 1999. He did so by winning the Volvo PGA Championship, the Volvo Scandinavian Masters and three other tour events.
2000 – Lee Westwood
It was not easy to grab the crown away from Colin Montgomerie again, but Lee Westwood was able to do it by winning seven tournaments worldwide in 2000. His most impressive wins were the Volvo Scandanavian Masters, the Smurfit European Open and the Compaq European Grand Prix.
2001- Retief Goosen
Impressively, Retief Goosen has at least five wins on the PGA, European, Asian and Sunshine Tours. He won his first and only European Tour Golfer of the Year Award in 2001 where he won the U.S. Open to go along with the Scottish Open and the Telefónica Open de Madrid.
2002 – Ernie Els
By 2002, Ernie Els was established as one of the very best golfers in the world and he again proved it by winning his first Open Championship at Muirfield. He also beat out Tiger Woods at the Genuity Championship and also won the Dubai Desert and Heineken Classics.
2003 – Ernie Els
The South African superstar would continue his roll in 2003, again winning the European Tour’s Golfer of the Year Award. He didn’t win a major, but finished in the top 6 at each of the Masters, U.S. Open and PGA Championship. He also won the Sony Open and Mercedes Championship.
2004 – Vijay Singh
13 of Vijay Singh’s 66 career wins came on the European Tour and he was named the organizations Golfer of the Year in a 2004 season that saw him win the PGA Championship and an incredible nine PGA Tour Events.
2005 – Michael Campbell
New Zealander Michael Campbell had a good career with 15 professional wins. He only won one PGA event, but made it count, capturing the 2005 PGA Championship. That same year, he won the HSBC World Match Play Championship
2006 – Paul Casey
The 2006 season saw Englishman Paul Casey finish in 15th place at the U.S. Open and win the Volvo China Open, the Johnnie Walker Championship at Gleneagles and the HSBC World Match Play Championship.
2007 – Padraig Harrington
An Irish golfer who has played all over the world, Padraig Harrington strung together two amazing years in 2007 and 2008. He started things off by winning the Open Championship at Carnoustie in 2007 and he also won the Irish Open.
2008 – Padraig Harrington
He had an awesome 2007, but was even better during the 2008 season. He repeated at the Open Championship at Royal Birkdale, also winning the 2008 PGA Championship. Even though he didn’t win a European Tour Event, he won the Golfer of the Year Award.
2009 – Lee Westwood
Lee Westwood never won a major championship, but he did finish tied for third at both the Open and PGA Championships. He also won the Portugal Masters in October and closed the year by winning the Dubai World Championship in November.
2010 – Graeme McDowell/Martin Kaymer
In 2010, the European Tour couldn’t decide between Graeme McDowell, who won the U.S. Open and Wales Open and Martin Kaymer, who won the U.S. Open and the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship at St. Andrews, so they decided to honor both.
2011 – Luke Donald
In 2011, Luke Donald won the WGC Accenture Match Play Championship, the Scottish Open, the BMW PGA Championship and the Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals Classic. All this success was enough to place him atop both the PGA and European Tour money lists.
2012 – Rory McIlroy
In 2012, Rory McIlroy won the first of his European Tour Golfer of the Year Awards, but it certainly wouldn’t be his last. He won his second major, the PGA Championship and he also won the DP World Tour Championship Dubai, and three additional PGA Tour events.
2013 – Henrik Stenson
Swedish player Henrik Stenson won the PGA Tour’s Deutsche Bank Championship and Tour Championship. He also won the DP World Tour Championship Dubai, finished second at the Open Championship, and third at the PGA Championship.
2014 – Rory McIlroy
Rory McIlroy had his best year in 2014, winning the Open Championship at Royal Liverpool and the PGA Championship, held at Louisville’s Valhalla Golf Club. He would also capture the BMW PGA Championship and the WGC Bridgestone Invitational.
2015 – Rory McIlroy
Rory McIlroy continued his fine play in 2015, winning the Omega Dubai Desert Classic to begin the year. He then finished in fourth place at the Masters and won the WGC-Cadillac Match Play and the Wells Fargo Championship at Quail Hollow.
2016 – Henrik Stenson
Henrik Stenson captured the European Tour’s Golfer of the Year Award after a tremendous 2016 season that saw him win the only major of his career, the Open Championship, held at Royal Troon. He would also win the BMW International Open in Germany.
2017 – Sergio Garcia
After years of coming so close to winning his first major tournament, Sergio Garcia finally closed the deal at the 2017 Masters. The Spaniard also captured the Andalucia Valderrama Masters and the Omega Dubai Desert Classic to close out a great year.
2018 – Francesco Molinari
What a year 2018 was for Francesco Molinari. The Italian star won the Open Championship, played that year at Carnoustie, and won the BMW PGA Championship. He closed the Year with a 5-0 record for Europe’s Ryder Cup winning team.
2019 – Jon Rahm
Just 24 years old for much of the 2019 season, Jon Rahm began by winning the Zurich Classic of New Orleans. He also won the Dubai Duty Free Irish Open and the Open de España. Rahm then won the DP World Tour Championship Dubai.
2020 – Lee Westwood
There is an astounding 22 year gap between Lee Westwood’s first European Tour Golfer of the Year Award and this one, but this just shows how long he has been a great player for. During the 2020 season, Westwood tied for 13th at the U.S. Open and won the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship.
2021 – Jon Rahm
Jon Rahm again won this award, now called the European Tour Golfer of the Year Award, thanks to his first major win at the U.S. Open. This was the Spaniards only win during the year on either tour but it was good enough to earn him the honor.
2022 – Ryan Fox
While his best major finish during the 2022 season was a 54th place at the PGA Championship. Ryan Fox had plenty of success on the European Tour, winning the Ras Al Kaihmah Classic and the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship on his way to this honor.
2023 – Adrian Meronk
In 2023, Adrian Meronk became the first Polish player to win the European Tour’s Player of the Year award. He did so with a T23 at the Open Championship, a T40 at the PGA Championship, and wins at the DS Automobiles Italian Open and the Estrella Damm N.A. Andalucia Masters.
2024 – Rory McIlroy
Superstar golfer Rory McIlroy was back on top of his game in 2024. He won the Zurich Classic and Wells Fargo Championship on the PGA Tour and added wins at the European Tour’s Hero Dubai Desert Classic and the DP Tour World Championship.
